Asbestos

Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous material that was widely used from the 1930's until the 1980's in various products such as building materials, insulation, friction products, packing and sealing materials, refractories, and others. Its use was curtailed in the 1970's and 1980's but it still finds its way into some products.

As a result of decades of manufacture, sale, installation and use of various asbestos products, many occupations are at risk of encountering "friable" asbestos products where the products are capable of emitting asbestos dust or fiber into the air that workers and bystanders are breathing. Often, asbestos products are friable (released into the air) when they are being installed, cut, mixed, sprayed, handled, repaired, torn out, or otherwise disturbed in construction, maintenance, and repair. However, some asbestos products can be in such poor or deteriorated condition that drafts or minor vibrations are enough to put toxic levels of asbestos into the air. On the other hand, certain asbestos products that are in place, intact, and not being disturbed may not pose an immediate hazard.

Because of these characteristics of asbestos and asbestos products, asbestos exposure and asbestos disease is found in many occupational settings.

Diseases from Asbestos Exposure

Occupational exposure to asbestos is known to cause several distinct types of injuries. Generally, the longer a person is exposed to asbestos dust and the greater the intensity of this exposure the more likely that person is to develop an asbestos-related illness.

Individual susceptibility does, however, vary greatly. In other words, some people can be exposed to a great deal of asbestos over a long period of time and never develop an asbestos-related injury. On the other extreme, some people can be exposed to very little asbestos and suffer fatal asbestos related injuries. All asbestos-related diseases have rather long latency periods (period of time between the first exposure to asbestos and the diagnosis of an asbestos-related disease) ranging from 5 to 40 or more years.

Even though a person may have been exposed to asbestos many years ago, they can still develop asbestos-related injuries today. This is because the human body can never entirely rid itself of ingested asbestos. The asbestos continues to do its damage to the lungs and other organs long after exposure has stopped.

In general, asbestos can cause two different types of illnesses; malignant diseases (cancers caused in organs with which ingested asbestos comes into contact, such as malignant mesothelioma); and non-malignant diseases (scarring processes of the lung or covering of the lung).

Asbestos Injury Lawyers

If you have worked around asbestos and feel you may have been exposed, you should get checked by a doctor and contact asbestos personal injury lawyers to see if you have a potential claim and to protect your rights. You should only use asbestos lawyers who have significant experience handling asbestos lawsuit cases and can demonstrate past case success.